God Among Men!

God Among Men!

Li Hu felt like a complete clown now. He had previously worried that Su Tu's Heart and Mind Height was not high enough, and had prepared all sorts of methods to help Su Tu undergo Gathering Dao Contemplation early, narrowing the gap between him and the other martial artists of his generation.

After all, in Li Hu's eyes at the time, although Su Tu's physical talent was astonishing, he had only just come into contact with Martial Dao. Raising one's Heart and Mind Height required more than merely learning; it also needed all kinds of assistance.

The reason they had not mentioned Mind Dao Plucking to Su Tu before was because they all believed his Heart and Mind Height would certainly be insufficient.

The children of great families and even the New Star prodigies who could participate in this Martial Examination had undergone mental tempering since childhood, some even spending years steeped in Heart and Mind Incense. No matter how heaven-defying Su Tu's aptitude was, Li Hu had believed that he was bound to have a considerable gap with his peers in terms of the mind.

But damn it, looking at things now, why would Su Tu need to narrow the gap with his peers at all?!

If the gap narrowed any further, they would not even be able to see Su Tu's back anymore.

Noticing the change in Li Hu's mood, Su Tu was somewhat baffled. He had no idea why this dense Senior Brother of his was acting so out of sorts.

But judging from Li Hu's attitude, he could confirm that there was nothing wrong with his Dao Gathering. It might even have gone better than expected.

"Xiao Tu, Brother Tiger is really numb right now."

Li Hu looked as though he had been drained dry, staring at the ceiling. He was just as listless as the day he had selected Su Tu's Base Skill.

According to his original plan, he would take out the Mind Stone and test Su Tu's aptitude. No matter what Su Tu's aptitude was, he would pretend to remain calm.

Then he would use various methods to guide Su Tu in raising his Mind Power, share some of his own cultivation insights, and happily prepare to receive the admiring gaze of his little junior brother.

But now? Damn it, Su Tu could already enter the True Self World.

He was completely refusing to follow the script!

Looking at Li Hu's appearance, Su Tu did not know what to say for a moment. It seemed that he had inadvertently dealt Brother Tiger quite a heavy blow.

But in truth, the moment Su Tu learned of the concept of Heart and Mind Height, he already knew that his own Heart and Mind Height had certainly reached the level needed for Dao Gathering.

After all, every day, he could enter that strange scene and gain Dao Gathering Proficiency.

The reason he had not directly told Li Hu, nor asked more questions when Zhou Wuliang had mentioned Dao Gathering earlier, was because Su Tu understood one principle.

Words are light; only action astonishes!

Rather than saying it himself, it was better to let others see it.

Of all the support Li Hu had just offered, what Su Tu cared about most was actually those exorbitantly priced resources Li Hu had mentioned.

Just then, Li Hu suddenly slapped his hands together as if he had remembered something. He quickly picked up his phone and began looking through its records.

"Brother Tiger, what should we do now?"

"Should we test whether my Heart and Mind Height is enough for Dao Gathering?"

Su Tu spoke with a serious expression, as though he truly did not know that he could already undergo Dao Gathering.

He put on a curious look.

Seeing this, Li Hu immediately gave a bitter smile. "Xiao Tu, don't mess with your brother. You can already enter the True Self World directly. Your Mind Realm should have reached the level of 'Xing Ku.' Why test your Heart and Mind Height at all?"

"'Xing Ku'?" Hearing this unfamiliar term, Su Tu repeated it.

Only then did Li Hu remember that this little junior brother before him, who had shocked him senseless, was truly a complete novice when it came to common knowledge of Martial Dao.

Although Su Tu could now look up certain things on the Forum, matters related to Mind Cultivation were not available for free there. Any post related to the mind required payment to unlock.

The price was enough for Su Tu to feast at Old Gong Restaurant like before for an entire month.

Seeing the thirst for knowledge in Su Tu's eyes, Li Hu finally regained some sense of achievement as a Senior Brother. He hurriedly straightened his back and gave a deliberately solemn cough.

Then he spoke.

"The method of Dao Gathering was passed down by the First Martial God. Its true meaning is that within the world of a person's mind lie countless great powers and myriad Daos. People carry a treasure vault within themselves without knowing it. Thus, by mastering the heart, mobilizing the great power of the mind, and gathering myriad Daos for one's own use—

"that is Dao Gathering!"

Seeing Su Tu listening so attentively, Li Hu grew even more earnest.

"The Martial God passed down Secret Paintings, within which divine wonders are sealed. People can use their minds to observe the divine wonders within these Secret Paintings, constantly tempering their Heart and Mind Height and elevating their Mind Realm. They may even comprehend their own Dao from them."

"The stages of Mind Cultivation are Flawless Mind, Xing Ku, Ta Fan, Du Jiu, and Seeing the Shore. I'll tell you about the realms after that later. With your current Mind Realm, you would not be able to remember them anyway."

"The first stage, Flawless Mind, means that one's thoughts are flawless, free of confusion and doubt."

"To put it simply, it means you can acknowledge all aspects of your past self in your heart, and your words and actions resonate with your mind."

"If there are certain emotions regarding your past that you cannot get around, then it is like a pit appearing on the path of your mind.

"Your Mind Power is the vehicle you use to travel that path. If your Mind Power is strong enough, you are driving a road roller. You can ignore those emotions and crush right over them, reaching Flawless Mind.

"If your Mind Power is weak, then it is like pushing a rickety wheelbarrow that is about to fall apart. It is already difficult to push, and once you hit a pit, you are completely done for."

Su Tu listened intently. Toward all things unknown, he was always filled with an intense longing.

"Flawless Mind has many benefits, such as being able to fall asleep quickly and concentrate better.

"But most importantly, only after reaching the stage of Flawless Mind can you fully perceive the divine wonders within a Secret Painting."

"After that, you need all kinds of supplementary methods to continuously glimpse those divine wonders and imprint them in your memory.

"Finally, once your Mind Power reaches the second stage, 'Xing Ku,' you will have a chance to construct the scene within the Secret Painting into a True Self World. You can enter it whenever you wish, experience the divine wonders, and strengthen your mind."

"You can already enter the True Self World. I think your Heart and Mind Height has reached the second stage, Xing Ku."

As Li Hu spoke, he kept giving Su Tu strange looks.

Generally speaking, boys Su Tu's age found it hardest to reach the realm of Flawless Mind. Adolescence came with all kinds of troubles.

Not long ago, his Combat partner had told him that he had gained a little junior sister with extraordinary talent. At such a young age, she had already opened ninety-eight apertures, yet her Mind Power had always been one step short of Flawless Mind. It was only after she confessed to her crush right before special training began that she directly reached the Flawless Mind stage.

And now, his little junior brother might have skipped the Flawless Mind stage entirely and gone straight to Xing Ku, because only upon reaching Xing Ku could one open a True Self World.

Thinking of the way that fellow had shown off to him, Li Hu could not help wanting to laugh.

Heh, opening more than ninety apertures and reaching Flawless Mind was worth showing off over?

Had he ever heard of a Supreme Heaven's Pride who opened eleven apertures in one night and directly opened a True Self World upon glimpsing a Secret Painting?

He would have to let his little junior brother cross paths with that fellow's junior sister someday.

"These stage names are pretty strange." Su Tu turned over the names of the Mind Cultivation stages in his mind.

Flawless Mind was easy enough to understand, but the names of the remaining realms were rather abstract.

"Oh, you mean that? Put another way, and they won't seem so abstract. You can regard the depths of the mind as a mysterious and majestic world: cross the boundless sea of suffering, tread the mortal dustlands, ferry across the burial ground of old days, and behold the Other Shore of all living beings."

"Each stage corresponds to a mystery hidden in the depths of the mind," Li Hu explained.

"Mind Cultivation is the domain of geniuses. It is like an infinitely extending line. Some people can easily see through to the end of that line, while for far more people, that line is their entire world."

The mind was the domain of geniuses. Without sufficient talent, even if one cultivated day and night without wasting ten thousand years, one still could not cross that line.

How many Celestial Grandmasters had brought their bodies to the pinnacle, only for their minds to decay and collapse beyond that line?

Li Hu looked at Su Tu with envy. If he had possessed the talent of his little junior brother, then he and his master probably would not be on the Ancestral Star now, and that loneliness and regret would not have remained frozen in his master's heart like ten thousand years of cold.

"Brother Tiger, what stage are you at now?" Su Tu asked curiously.

Li Hu had walked through the air yesterday. In the eyes of ordinary people, such a method was already godlike. Su Tu wondered just how far his realm had reached.

"I've been stuck at Ta Fan for a long time. I don't know whether I'll have the chance in this life to see the burial ground of old days." Li Hu sighed, a trace of anticipation in his eyes.

"If one enters the realm of Du Jiu, one can ferry across the burial ground of old days in the depths of the mind, wield the power of divine wonders, reflect them into the present world, see rules unseen by all living beings, walk Dao rhythms incomprehensible to the world, and gain three thousand years of mental lifespan—like a god among men!"

At those words, a glimmer of anticipation flashed through Su Tu's eyes, bright and dazzling!